This is Not a Love Story
by Bitcheesquared
Summary: Post: S04E04 Katherine is back in town, and she's finally ready to tell the real truth. She's come to claim what is hers and no stupid little vampire doppelganger is going to get in the way.
1. Lessons Learned

**Warning! This fic, is part of my cathartic need to vent after the events of episode 4.4. The out come will depend entirely on reviews.**  
**I have two more chapters to post and the fourth chapter will be written when and if I get enough responses, enabling me to decide the readers preferred ending.**  
**So review and let me know... I'm curious to see where this fic is going to end up.**

Damon closed his bedroom door with a decisive click.

Leaning his forehead against the door, he breathed in deeply and let it out slow.

That was it, he was officially done. He'd thought he'd finally reached her, he thought she'd finally understood that being a vampire, could be about more than doom, gloom and the unending fight against the blood lust. Looks like he was wrong.

For a moment there, she'd been the girl he'd known so briefly in Georgia and he'd actually let himself hope that she was finally on the path to accepting what she was. Of course, it had all come crashing down the moment she realized she was actually feeling happy, and with Damon no less.

Shit! when was he going to learn.

Elena Gilbert, would never be happy with him, not if they both lived a thousand years. She wanted to be the caring human girl, that she had been before her transition and no amount of blood or fun, would lure her from her determination. And of course, good old Stefan would be there to make sure that she stayed on the straight and narrow. Even if it did end up destroying her.

Well fuck that!

He banged his head against the door, just once and not hard enough to do any damage to either head or door. Then straightening up, he started to shrug out of his jacket.

An appreciative murmur from the vicinity of his bed, had him whipping around. Nonplussed, that he hadn't sensed her presence, he blinked confusedly at the sight of Katherine Pierce.

"Hello Lover, did you miss me?"

He groaned, tempted to hit his head again in the vain hope, that it might make the image of the half naked vampire on his bed, disappear.

"What do you want Katherine? Actually... scratch that. Just get out."

Slipping his jacket the rest of the way off, he tossed it over a nearby chair and started to unbutton his blood stained shirt.

"Charming as ever I see...and as appreciative as I am for the show my love, I actually came to talk. Well first..."she trailed off, eyeing him suggestively.

He rolled his eyes at her antics, before completely ignoring her in favor of his bathroom and a much needed hot shower.

If he thought his attitude might deter her, he was destined for disappointment. She shrugged casually and followed him into the bathroom.

Determined to continue ignoring her, Damon reached in and flipped the faucet on in his shower before starting to shed his clothes.

"Hmm... maybe your right, my sweet boy, talking is highly over rated. How about I wash your back and you can wash mine." she purred lasciviously.

Damon could feel her eyes trailing over his body, the weight of her gaze and her obvious desire; as heavy as if her hands were already upon him.

Great, just what he needed... another Petrova vampire messing with his head. Why the fuck couldn't he get a moments peace. Why did it seem like the universe had it in for him?  
He was so not in the mood for any of Katherine's usual games.

He looked up, intent on telling her how much he really didn't want her anywhere near him, especially not in a biblical sense, but the words fled as he took in the sight of the now naked woman and the expression on her face.  
He'd seen many and varied looks directed his way, during his time with her, but he'd never seen one quite like this, not directed at him. There was lust of course, that was expected, but it was the strange yearning and softness in her gaze that had him stymied.  
Katerina Petrova did not ever; as in never, look at him the way she was looking at him now.

Unclothed and naked in every way that counted; ways he couldn't have expected, she stood before him and met his gaze fearlessly.

"What are you doing Katherine?"

He winced at the obvious tremor in his voice.

God, she looked so much like Elena at the moment. If he didn't know for a fact that Elena was upstairs with his brother right now, he would have thought all his fantasy's were coming true.

Stepping past him and into the shower, Katherine glanced up at him from under lowered lashes.

Damon resisted the urge to rub his eyes at her look. Great, now he was hallucinating. There was no way Katherine, the queen bitch from hell, looked nervous.

Turning to face her, he tried to ignore the way the water flowed over her naked curves. Her dark tresses caressing her nipples, as the water darkened her mahogany locks to a hue, complimented by her darkness in her eyes.

Swallowing past the unexpected knot that had formed in his throat, Damon once again tried to make sense of her actions.

"What's this all about Katherine? Why are you really here?"

When she reached out an arm for him, he reacted without thinking.

Grabbing the proffered arm he pulled her from the shower. Hauling her naked form against his own, he met her startled look with a glare.

"For the last time, Katherine. What are You-Up-To?"

Katherine met his stare defiantly, her body relaxing in to him, even as her free hand came up to caress his cheek.

"I've been following you." she admitted her voice hardly louder than a whisper. "Ever since I heard about Elena. I knew you would need me, so I've been back since the just after the council went boom. I was there tonight Damon, I heard what she said..."

"And you what" Damon cut in bitterly "You thought you'd come offer some cold comfort to the poor pathetic loser?" he dropped her arm.

"Thanks, but no thanks, Katherine, I'm not gonna be your consolation prize just because baby bro and Elena, finally get to live out their fluffy rainbow eternity together. I'm not quite that sad, at least not yet. And news flash baby, you are hardly my idea of a consolation prize anyway, I'd rather sleep with a fucking shark, It would leave less damage." he snarled.

He tensed waiting for her retaliation, sure it would be swift and brutal, and exactly what he needed right now. Instead he was shocked when she slumped against him and let out a sigh.

"Jesus Damon" she muttered, before looking up to meet his eyes.

Damon was taken aback yet again, she sounded so tired and her eyes, when they met his, were sad.

"Look, just for this one time, can you just get in the shower and not argue, I'll even promise to keep my hands to myself. Please Damon, I don't need Stefan or Elena knowing I'm here just yet, and I really need to talk to you, about a lot of things."

Meeting her stare sceptically, he raised a brow.

"What things, and I would have thought you'd love it if Stefan got an earfull of you with his big brother. What the hell is going on?"

Stepping backwards Katherine tugged insistently at his arm, her attempt to draw him after her strangely gentle.

Damon found himself struggling with conflicting desires.

On one hand, he was tired, pissed off and didn't trust Katherine, as far as Stefan could throw her. But on the other, he was tired, pissed off and horny, and he had never seen this Katherine before. In truth, he was just plain curious to see where this was going, and if he was being honest, he was really up for some hate sex, right about now.

"Fine Kat, but this better be good."

She smiled and bit her lip, her look was mischievous as she pulled him against her body.  
"I'd say when wasn't it, but in the mood you're in I'd probably get a list." She grinned at his snort and reached for the shower gel.

"So Damon, You sure you don't wanna wash my back?"

She batted her lashes at him and Damon decided that the night had just gotten as surreal as he could take.

Sighing, he gave in and took the gel. Pouring a generous measure into his hand he rubbed them together and proceeded to stroke his hands down her back. Slowly and with skill he had perfected in a thousand similar situations, he massaged and caressed her skin. From the nape of her neck, down to the sweet curve of her ass, he used his fingers to lull her into a state of near torpor.

Unfortunately, as much as he told himself his actions were all about getting information out of her, his body had other ideas.

He groaned as he felt his erection nudging her ass, and it didn't help when she let out a similar groan and ground her ass back against his cock.

She was wet and warm and she smelled like jasmine and blood; two of his favourite scents. Her skin felt like satin under his hands and her body, in the fog of the shower, was a twin to the woman he loved. So it was hardly surprising, that when she let out another moan and shimmied even closer, something in him finally snapped.

With a low growl, he pushed her against the tile of the shower wall and bit down with blunt teeth on her shoulder. She let out a sharp gasp and Damon felt himself slip over the edge of no return.  
Snarling with need; he bent her forward. Trusting that she would get the idea, he pushed her legs apart and nudged his cock into position at her entrance. Pausing to take in the sight of Katherine, spread eagled and quivering with want, he couldn't resist taunting her, just a little.

"Tell me Katherine, do you want this? Do you want my cock inside you?" he thrust the head of his dick up a little higher, so it brushed against her clit and ran his mouth along the column of her neck.

"C'mon baby... tell me what you want, tell me how hard you want me to fuck you." he coaxed. Running his fangs down her throat with the barest amount of pressure, he rotated his hips with the intent of teasing some sort of admittance out of her.

Her reaction was everything he hoped, and he couldn't stop the smug little grin that settled on his mouth.

Katherine Pierce might have had sweet little Damon Salvatore, but she'd never had Damon the vampire. For over a hundred years, he'd indulged every carnal appetite he'd ever thought about and then some. That alone, would have insured he knew his way around a woman's' body, but Damon Salvatore was a perfectionist in all things, pleasuring women being the top of his list. He prided himself on the fact that he never had to use compulsion to get sex from a girl. And up till he'd met Elena Gilbert, he'd never had a woman turn him down, at least not one that he really wanted. And now, judging by the moans coming from Katherine, it didn't look like he'd be sleeping alone tonight, either.

Katherine couldn't get over the fact that she was on the verge of having sex with Damon Salvatore and she wasn't the one in control. Physically or emotionally.

The Damon she remembered, had been sweet and honest in his feelings for her and considering his relative inexperience, surprisingly pleasing in the bedroom. This Damon was no longer sweet, but he was still honest and even if that honesty hurt her more than she cared to admit, at least she'd always known where she stood with him.

But the vampire, that currently held her pinned and panting against the shower wall, this man was very very different from the sweet lover she remembered. Fuck! If she hadn't been sure before, she was now. Damon Salvatore had grown up and turned into everything she'd ever wanted in a lover and she'd been a fool to play him like she had.

Holy fuck, if her stupid little doppelganger knew what she had turned down, she be kicking herself about now.

He hadn't even entered her yet and she was on the verge of coming, from just his voice and his teasing touch. God, what would it be like to be loved by Damon. To have all this attention and focus turned towards making the one he loved happy. Jesus, it didn't bear thinking about. If this is what it was like being with him when he didn't care, then she couldn't imagine what it would be like, if he still loved her.

Elena Gilbert was a very stupid little girl, and by the time Katherine was through with her, she was going to know just how stupid.

In the seconds it had taken for her thoughts to crystallize, Damon had moved his hands into play, and Katherine couldn't hold back any longer.

As one hand flicked and stroked her nipple and the other teased her clit, she felt herself toppling towards orgasm and subsequently shrieking her pleasure loud enough for the whole house to hear, even without vampire hearing.

"Fuck Yes Damon! Oh God... fuck me baby fuck me." she yelled, all thoughts of being discovered leaving her head.

Damon complied and her eyes rolled back in her head.

He plunged in hard and deep, only to withdraw and do it again. Each stroke was a little faster, as he murmured in her ear about how tight and wet she was and how he was going to fuck her so hard, that she wouldn't be able to sit down for hours.

"Please Damon God, feels so good. Harder baby harder. Oh yeah like that." she begged, her mind reeling with pleasure.

"Fuck Damon oh god oh god oh god." she panted, her body convulsing in ecstasy. "OHHH Damon" she wailed "Please don't stop, fucking feels so good."

She was on her second orgasm when Damon sank his fangs into her throat and started to drink. Her body convulsed in pleasure and before she knew what was happening, she was coming again, nearly on top of the last.

Damon felt her clench around him for the third time and carefully withdrew his teeth from her throat. Lathing the bite with his tongue, he transferred both hands to her hips and started to pound into her mercilessly. Each hard long stroke brought him closer and closer to completion, but just before he moved past the point of no return, he shifted his left hand back down to her clit and started to stroke.

When he felt her begin to tighten around his cock again, he draped himself along her back and stilled.

"Come for me." he ordered.

Katherine shouted his name and fell over the edge for the fourth time, and Damon finally let himself loose.

He pulled back and slammed into her brutally; in a way that only another vampire could take, five more strokes was all it took and he was coming like he hadn't since Rose.

"Fuck yeah... That's it Kat." he yelled.

"Oh God Damon, Fuck I love you." she screamed as she bucked beneath him.

Katherine's last thought just before she blacked out was "Oh Crap, he's gonna fucking kill me." and then she slipped into unconsciousness and knew no more.


	2. Bridges Mended

**_Okay.. the consensus seems to be pretty even at the moment, let's see what you think after this chapter._**

**_So Review and let me know. The more reviews I get the faster I post. And don't be afraid to tell me what you think as long as it's polite._**

Chapter Two

Bridges Mended

Elena hadn't been at the boarding house for very long, when she heard Damon returning from wherever he'd been, after dropping her off at her house.

She hadn't actually intended staying with Stefan at all, but he'd seemed so eager to have her with him, she just didn't have the heart to say no.

She'd been on her way downstairs to get herself a snack, when she'd heard the front door close. She had frozen on the landing momentarily, before fleeing back up stairs with a less than dignified burst of vampire speed.

She just couldn't face seeing him again tonight, not after everything that had happened.

Every time she closed her eyes, she kept seeing the anger and the disappointment on his face. Those, she could of handled, she was used to him looking at her like that since she'd become a vampire. What she couldn't handle, was the expression she'd seen on his face as Stefan closed her front door. It was defeat, tinged with the one thing that she'd never expected to see in Damon's expressive eyes ever, blatant painful surrender.

Damon Salvatore, had finally given up on Elena Gilbert and she was terrified by what it might mean. More than that, she was just plain scared to death over what it said about his feelings for her; how it made her feel to realize they could change.

She hated being a vampire, but her secret truth was that she hated it a lot less, when she was with Damon.

Damon, made her feel nearly normal, he didn't make her feel like a monster, or someone less than who she'd been. And that scared her far more than anything else had, since becoming a vampire.

She'd told him earlier, that she didn't want to be like him and it was true to a certain point. She wanted to be the Elena that everyone else knew, not the passionate and fiery creature that Damon drew out of her.

She'd always been a different person with Damon, and that was before she had died. The person that only Damon had glimpses of, at least since her parents had been killed.

The girl from before, the one that had partied and laughed; that had been instantly attracted to a mysterious stranger she'd met on a lonely stretch of highway. That girl was gone and she had to stay gone; that girl got people killed and broke boys hearts. She didn't want to be that girl.

Stefan never brought out that girl; not even when she was human. He was thoughtful and caring and considered things from all angles, before acting. He would never let her lose control and forget herself, he would always be there as a reminder, that being the way she was before her parents death, was not who she should be.

Damon made her reckless and wild, he was passion and adventure and danger, everything a good girl shouldn't (couldn't) want.

So, If his feelings were changing, then that was good. It would be better for everyone, if he just stopped loving her. She'd chosen Stefan, and Stefan was who she loved. It would always be Stefan.

But then; why did her heart ache, when she remembered the look in Damon's eyes.

And why had her heart sung with some unnamed emotion, when he'd flung his angry words at Bonnie.

Stefan was asleep when she re-entered his room and she couldn't help feeling a little pang of relief, that she wouldn't have to face him with so much on her mind. She was sated from her earlier feeding with Damon, but she still felt wired and stretched too thin, as she gently lowered herself onto the bed.

Careful not to disturb her boyfriend, she lay back and tried not to think about tonight, about how good it had felt to have fresh human blood flowing down her throat and how right it had felt to be held in arms, that weren't her boyfriends.

laying there, staring up at the ceiling, she gradually became aware of noises that seemed disturbingly out of place, in the usually quiet house.

When it finally dawned on her what she was hearing she felt her blood rush to her face and her fangs begin to drop.

Damon had a girl in his room. He'd brought home a woman and he was very obviously, not having a problem with broadcasting the fact.

Straining her ears, she could make out the sounds of low moans and groans, and with each gasp she could feel her temper flaring.

Getting up from the bed; still mindful of not disturbing Stefan, she moved towards the door. She tried to tell herself she was pissed because the last girl he'd brought home was that bitch Rebecca and she needed to know if it was her that he was having sex with. It wasn't about Damon, he could sleep with whoever he liked, just as long as it wasn't the fucking cow that had killed her.

Ire rising at her thoughts; she slipped into the hall soundlessly.

How fucking dare he bring that bitch here, to this house. How could he do that to her. How could he sleep with the thing that was responsible for her being a vampire.

Moving down the hall towards Damon's room, she tried to ignore the little voice in the back of her head. The one that was insisting that Damon wouldn't do that to her, not this time. He'd wanted to kill Rebecca himself, there was no way he'd sleep with her again.

Pushing her doubts away, she stopped outside Damon's room.

Hand on the door knob, she was about to burst in and let fly, when she heard something that made her heart skitter in her chest and her blood run cold.

"Fuck yeah... That's it Kat."

"Oh God Damon, Fuck I love you."

Elena's world spun dizzily, as she registered the identity of the voice that could have been her own. Though that particular sentiment, was not one she'd ever expected to hear; not coming out of the mouth of Katherine Pierce. It didn't negate the realization, that Damon was at this moment, fucking Katherine, a woman that he had loved for nearly a century and a half. And what was worse... she wasn't just fucking, she was making love to him. Elena's doppelganger was back and from the sounds of it, she'd finally come to claim what was hers.

Reeling in shock and desperately trying to stifle the tears she could feel building, Elena turned and fled back to Stefan's room.

Closing the door in a panic, she stood for a second, before striding over to the bed and shaking her boyfriend awake.

His startled "What" indicated that she'd probably been less than gentle in her method, but at that moment she couldn't find it in herself to care.

"Katherine's back!" she blurted, not knowing how to say it any other way.

"She's with Damon right now Stefan and you have to stop it."

Stefan blinked and then shook his head.

"Okay, hold up a minute. Katherine is here, now... and she's with Damon. What's she doing with Damon?" he rose from the bed and reached for his jeans.

"Are they fighting Elena? Jesus what's he done now." muttered Stefan, pulling up and fastening his pants.

Elena, barely resisted rolling her eyes at her boyfriends obtuse attitude.

"No, he's not fighting with her, but you have to go down there and tell the bitch to leave. I don't want her here Stefan, she's trouble and Damon has already been through enough at her hands. She doesn't get to come back here and play with his head like that." she exclaimed heatedly.

Stefan's eyes widened fractionally, but it didn't stop him from striding to the door.

"You better stay here Elena, Katherine is still stronger and older than all of us and with the mood you're in, I don't relish refereeing any supernatural catfights." he smiled gently to take the sting out of his words.

"I'll go down and see what's going on and I'll be right back."

The moment the door closed Elena started to pace.

Oh God, Damon was sleeping with Katherine. How could he touch that woman, after everything she had done to him, to all of them.

How had this happened? Not more than three hours ago he'd been dancing with her, hugging her and now he was in bed with his ex girlfriend. The woman that looked like her twin. He'd yelled her name and Katherine had been very vocal in the fact; that apparently for her at least, it was no longer all about Stefan.

She wanted to believe it was a trick, a game on Katherine's part, but as much as she wished that was true, she knew it wasn't, because she knew that voice like her own. There was no way Katherine was faking what she felt, not when she'd screamed out her love, not with that much feeling in her declaration.

Why did she have to choose now to come back, Damon was at his most vulnerable and it was her fault. If she hadn't pushed him away so hard, he might not have given in to Katherine, he hadn't before.

Elena's hands came up to cover her mouth, as it hit her all at once.

She'd done this... she'd pushed Damon into Katherine's arms and now she'd probably lost him for good. Katherine was everything he wanted in a vampire, she was brave and ruthless, cunning and strong. She'd never be ashamed of what she was, and she would definitely, never be ashamed of wanting someone like Damon.

She may look like Elena, but if Katherine really loved him like Elena believed she did, she'd never treat him the way Elena had. Katherine was a bitch, but she was honest about what she wanted and if it was Damon she'd finally decided on, then there would be no games this time around. This time she'd be playing for keeps.

Katherine Pierce would take Damon and leave Mystic Falls and Elena would never see him again. Never feel his arms around her, never see his beautiful eyes look at her with the love that he'd reserved only for her. All of that would belong to Katherine. All because Elena had been too blind to see what was right in front of her, the whole time.

She was going to lose Damon and she had only herself to blame.

What the hell was she supposed to do now?

Stefan approached Damon's room, warily. It had been a long and tiring day. Between Klaus, Rebecca and the hunter, he'd had just about enough. And now with the secret he was keeping, all he'd wanted to do was to go home and curl up, with Elena safely in his arms.

He'd thought about telling her what Klaus and Rebecca had revealed, but he didn't want to get her hopes up about a possible cure, in case the trail turned out to be a dead end.

No, he'd wait and see what Klaus had found when he came back from his trip and in the mean time, he'd planned on spending some time with his girlfriend, just reconnecting and getting them back on track.

Now, it looked like he had Katherine to worry about; something he really didn't need and a person he'd hoped not to see again, for a very long time.

Poor Damon, he'd already been devastated by Elena's decision and now here was Katherine; back to remind him of yet another woman that had chosen his brother. Not that Stefan cared that Katherine had picked him, it was Elena he loved, after all. Nothing Katherine could do or say, would change that.

He sighed heavily.

Oh well, they can't have done too much damage to each other, he hadn't heard anything breaking, maybe she'd left already. Still, he'd better check on his brother. Elena would give him hell, if Katherine had done something to Damon, that Stefan could have prevented.

Opening the door quietly, Stefan squared his shoulders prepared to see the worst; a furious Damon and a confrontational Katherine. Hoping for the best, he entered the room and immediately froze in place.

There; in his ridiculously large bed, lay Damon. And in his arms; a soft and content smile on her face, Katherine Pierce, slept the sleep of the innocent, or in her case; the truly sated.

Stefan; the moment his brain registered what his eyes were telling him, experienced a number of very uncomfortable and totally unexpected emotions. First, was a startling sense of rage and jealousy as the scent of blood and sex hit his nose. Then, a rending pain in the region of his heart, as he watched the woman who'd made them both, sleep so peacefully in Damon's arms. This was followed closely by despair; as he realized that Katherine had come back and this time it wasn't for him. And last but by far the least; the horrified realization, that he'd really fucked things up this time. He was going to lose Damon to Katherine and worse than that, he might have lost Katherine forever this time.

Damon must have sensed his presence, because the next time Stefan looked directly at his brother, his eyes were open.

"What happened to knocking?" snarked Damon. "I could have been indecent".

He lifted the covers up, giving Stefan a brief flash of Katherine's alabaster skin, before dropping them with a snicker.

"Oh right... I am". He shrugged and smirked. "Sorry little Brother, did you want something?' he asked, his tone suggestive, as he ran his hand down the curve of Katherine's back.

Stefan gritted his teeth and glared.

"What the hell Damon. Why is she here and why the fuck are you in bed with her?"

Damon just rolled his eyes.

"Well it's like this baby bro, when a mummy vampire and a daddy vampire love each other very very much..."

"Cut the crap Damon." exploded Stefan, his anger barely contained.

"What do you think you are doing... She doesn't love you; you know that. She's just come back to screw with your head and you're going to let her, aren't you?"

Stefan snarled at the look on Damon's face. And his next words nearly pushed Stefan to real violence.

"Hmmm, she's screwing with something alright, but I'm pretty sure it's not my head, at least not the one you're thinking of." Damon winked, but his eyes were colder than Stefan could ever remember seeing them, and it was those eyes that stopped Stefan from losing his temper completely.

Reining his temper in, Stefan got himself under control.

Attempting to be calm and reasonable, Stefan extended an arm conciliatorily and gestured towards the woman in his brothers bed.

"Come on Damon, you know she's only doing this to try and get to me. If she stays here, it's Elena that will suffer, and I know you don't want that."

Damon's eyes; if possible, got even harder.

"Well Fuck you Stefan. I really don't care what you think. So why don't you run back to your little vampire girlfriend and leave us grown up vampires alone. Katherine hasn't told me why she's back yet, but until she tells me differently, I'm choosing to believe she's here for me. Actually little brother, it might interest you to know that she didn't want you knowing she was here. And it sure as hell wasn't your name she was screaming right before she passed out. So get the fuck out before I make you."

Stefan snarled and started to move towards the bed.

Damon tensed, on the verge of getting up to meet him half way, he stilled when the woman in his arms let out a large and exasperated sigh.

"For fuck's sake! Can't a girl bask in the afterglow for longer than five minutes, without you two having one of your spats?"

Pulling herself up and tucking the covers under her arms, she moved back into Damon's arms, and unashamedly snuggled.

Damon's arm came around her and she turned her face up to study his expression. Seeing the wary look in his eyes, she felt a sudden and furious burst of anger towards Stefan and herself; she acted accordingly. Reaching up, she cupped her hand at the back of his head and pulled him in for a surprisingly sweet and lingering kiss.

It was of course, at that moment, that Elena decided that rather than waiting for Stefan to fill her in, she needed to see what was happening for herself.

And that's why, when Damon opened his eyes to look at his brother, he met the devastated stare of Elena Gilbert, instead.

**_Sorry for the mix up and the early preview... chapter three was posted by mistake, This is the correct chapter two._**

**_Lack of sleep will do that to you. LOL_**


	3. Free Floating

Elena froze and clutched Stefan's arm. Her heart stuttered in her chest, as she took in the tender look on Damon's face. Tenderness that for once , was not for her.

Of course, the look changed rapidly as he met her eyes.

Her heart froze, as he seemed to dismiss her presence without even a flicker of emotion before turning his gaze back to his brother.

"Jesus Stefan, why don't you sell tickets. It's like grand central station in here. Are Blondie and Judgy gonna come bursting in too, or is this some new couple bonding thing you two have going?"

Katherine snickered and Damon couldn't help giving her an affectionate little squeeze. He didn't know what the fuck was going on in her head, but at the moment, he was just grateful that she appeared to be on his side.

Stefan remained oblivious to his girlfriends presence, he hadn't taken his eyes off Katherine and Damon since they had ended their kiss.

He felt like he'd been dropped into some weird alternate reality.

What the hell was going on, why was Katherine acting like this? She'd told him that she loved him; that it was him that she'd always wanted, so what sort of game was she playing with Damon and why.

"Okay Katherine you've had your fun. How about we all go downstairs and talk. You can tell me why you really came back and maybe Damon and I can help." He met her gaze expectantly; sure that at any moment, she'd toss Damon one of her pitying looks and confess her real reasons for being here.

Stefan was about to be very disappointed.

"God Stefan! Were you always this much of an asshole, or have you just had a lot of practice while I was gone." Her voice was sweet, but her expression was openly contemptuous , as she met her former lovers eyes.

Reaching down she found Damon's hand and clasped it in her own.

_Okay Kat, time to finally tell the truth and nothing but the truth,_ she thought, with a grimace.

Determination settled on her features, even as she tried to rein in her worry about everyone's reactions to what she was about to reveal, especially Damon's.

Stefan meanwhile, felt his jaw tick in reaction to her words, but before he could say anything in his defence, Katherine started speaking again.

"First up, just let me say... I can't believe you two fell for the bull I fed you the last time I was in town. Even Elena realised that Damon meant more to me than I let on, and she was a fucking human." she rolled her eyes at Elena's snarl.

"Settle down there little girl, I'm a pretty comfortable at the moment, but that won't stop me from snapping your neck and leaving you in the tub while the grownups talk. I have some things to say and you're all going to hear them, though I had planned on getting a lot more reacquainted with my man, before I saw you two."

She flashed Damon a smirk, and put her fingers over his mouth before he had the chance to react to her words.

"Okay, Damon, here it is..." She took a deep breath.

"First, I want to apologize to you for lying to you. I told you it was Stefan that I loved ,not you and it wasn't true. I love you Damon, it was always you." She didn't even bother to look in Stefan's direction as she spoke, and not even Elena's sharp gasp pulled her eyes away from Damon's.

"The truth is...The only reason, your brother even had vampire blood in his system when he died, was that I knew how much you cared about him and I knew you were going to need those ties after I left . And before you start rolling your eyes and scoffing, just let me explain."

When he frowned in annoyance at her words, she waited a beat before continuing. She needed him to listen. Their whole future depended on it.

"When I first came to Mystic Falls in 1864, I was on the run from Klaus, which you now know. What you don't know, is that Elijah had people watching me constantly and that he had decided, that it was a far more fitting punishment for me to never have, what he couldn't have from me. I did care about him in my own way, but I didn't love him and he never forgave me for that. Anyway, after I betrayed Klaus and got myself turned, Elijah couldn't bring himself to kill me, or turn me over to Klaus. Unfortunately, he also decided that if he couldn't have my heart, then no one else would."

Katherine bowed her head for a moment before continuing.

"Before I came to Mystic Falls, he had already killed at least three of my lovers." she looked up and met Damon's eyes again. "So when I met you I knew that feeling anything for you, would mean signing your death warrant." She sighed and turned to face the other two vampires.

Stefan looked stunned and Elena looked equal parts horrified and upset.

"Damon doesn't know this, but the first time I laid eyes on him, I knew he was the one I wanted to spend my eternity with. And yes, I had already met Stefan, but honestly... he was a child compared to Damon. Sleeping with Stefan was wrong, but it was also the only way I could have Damon".

She glared at Stefan as he snorted his disbelief. Squeezing Damon's hand in warning, she shot him a pleading look before continuing.

"You see, I knew from experience that Elijah would assume I was only toying with them if I seemed to be playing with both. He'd never minded me taking my pleasure where I could... it was only my emotional attachments that he objected to."

Her chuckle was bitter and her eyes were sad as she remembered.

"In any case, by the time I moved to mystic Falls, I'd learnt to either avoid, or at least mask any true emotion I might have for my bed partners. And the best way to do that, was to have more than one". She reached up and stroked Damon's cheek.

"God Damon, if you had known just how terrified I was that Elijah would find out that I loved you... you would have run a mile. I had to put on the act of my life to keep it from him, not even Emily knew the truth; though I think she may have suspected, just before the end. Anyhow... after I faked my death and disappeared, I spent the next Seventy six years trying to find a way for us to be together. But every lead I ran down, every scenario I tried, all would have ended up with you dead. And there was also the little fact that I was still hiding from Klaus. Of course I realized eventually, that Elijah must have been keeping track of me through my witches, but that wasn't until years after Emily's death.

Her eyes were lost in the past, thinking of all the times she'd thought she was safe, when really, Elijah had been only a step away.

"I hated what I did to you, back then. Letting you think that I had been playing with you both was horrible and not being able to tell you I was alive was worse. And then the comet came and Emily's stupid spell pulled you back to Mystic Falls and I knew it was only a matter of time before you found out I was alive."

Damon was glad he was lying down. If he hadn't been, it could have gotten embarrassing. Katherine's out of the blue confessions had left him speechless and confused. And judging by the look on his brothers face; just as stunned as Stefan. Strangely, Elena looked upset; which he'd ponder later, when he wasn't on the verge of either laughing his ass off, or crying like a big girl.

Stefan pulled his arm from Elena's grasp and advanced on the couple in the bed.

"Okay then, If you love Damon so much, then why the fuck tell me it was all about me. Why push him away and tell him you loved me, why try to get me to sleep with you every chance you got, and what was all that in the tomb?"

His lip curled back in a sneer.

"C'mon Katherine, explain to me why you didn't tell him the dagger would kill him if he staked Elijah. Why fuck with his head so publicly and so cruelly if he was the one you really loved. You could have just blown into town and swept him off his feet. it's not like he wouldn't have forgiven you. He's Damon after all. He was always your sad pathetic puppy dog, I'm sure it wouldn't have taken much on your part to convince him."

Damon cringed internally and waited for her reply, as curious to hear her explanation as Stefan, but determined not to let anything show.

Unexpectedly it was Elena that spoke up.

"Stefan! Stop it, how could you talk about your brother like that. Katherine's right, you're being an asshole. Damon wouldn't have done that, he loves you and he wouldn't have left you to deal with the shit that was going on, not just to get back together with Katherine. How could you even think that?"

It was a toss up who was more shocked by Elena's defence, Stefan or Damon. Katherine was the only one not at all surprised. After all, she knew intimately how hard it was not to care about Damon Salvatore, never mind loving him. And Elena Gilbert might be the champion of the world when it came to denial, but even Katherine could admit that when it came to loyalty and honesty where her family and loved ones were concerned, Elena didn't pull any punches.

She chuckled and nodded approvingly at her doppelganger.

"She's right, not that I owe you any explanation Stefan; because I believe I made it crystal clear that this is definitely Not about you. But I do owe your brother one."

She turned to face Damon, regret clear in her gaze.

"I acted the way I did for two reasons. The most obvious being; that as long as Elijah thought I was pinning for your brother and dismissive of you he would leave you alive. So that meant everyone had to believe it was Stefan that I wanted and that meant selling it to you both. If Elijah had doubted for even a moment, he would have compelled the truth from one or both of you, so it had to be convincing. Everything I said, all the crap I fed Stefan when we were locked in the tomb, all of it was to make sure you would be safe."

Her expression was pleading as she continued to speak.

"Don't you see Damon, Elijah was fine with me loving Stefan, it was just another form of punishment for not being able to love him. He knew Stefan didn't want me, that as long as he had Elena he would never admit to loving me. And that kept Stefan safe. My loving you had to be unthinkable to ensure your survival." She shot a glance at Elena. "It's ironic, that the only person who came close to seeing the truth, was both my doppelganger and my rival."

Her eyes were harder as she met his again.

"And that fact relates directly to the second if I'm being honest. I was a complete bitch to you, probably more than was needed because I was hurt and jealous." she scowled at him fiercely her eyes flashing with anger as she spoke.

"I was back in town for barely a minute and the man I loved was kissing me because he thought I was someone else. I'd planned and plotted and suffered a hundred and forty five years; dreaming of the day when I'd be free of Klaus and Elijah so I could be with him and he'd fallen in love with my fucking doppelganger. I'm a vampire Damon, and a selfish one at that, I was fucking pissed and wanted to hurt you, okay."

She turned her head away, the emotion of her confession overwhelming her. When she looked back up her eyes were blood filled, the telltale veins around her eyes prominent.

"I knew, as soon as you kissed me that night, that I'd lost you. I knew that nothing I could say or do would make any difference. I'd waited too long, been to cautious, hurt you too much. You loved Elena and I was probably going to watch you get killed, trying, to protect her. And It didn't help that I had Isobel saying I told you so, either."

She visibly tried to get control of her anger, as she looked away from the man who was still holding her.

"As for the dagger, I made a stupid mistake. I didn't think Damon would be the one to use it. Especially not after I was the one who told him about it. I thought it would be one of the humans, or even Stefan. I never expected Damon to do it. I figured he be suspicious of my motives and that he'd know Elijah would be on his guard around him of all people. I'll admit I screwed up, but to be fair, I was still pretty fucking mad over the whole Elena thing."

She looked at Damon apologetically her expression softening.

"I really didn't want you to die. And that stuff I said to you that night at the house, when you offered to just up and leave if I said I loved you... Well Elena knows you better than you think. You might have convinced yourself that you could go, just pick up where we left off, but I knew differently Damon. You loved both of them too much to do that to them and if you had come with me, you would have ended up hating me for it. So I lied to your face, because I was hurt and because I still wasn't free to be with you. I convinced myself that it didn't matter, that the only important thing was getting the moonstone and handing it over so I could be free."

Her eyes shone with tears and emotion as she stared up into his face.

"I'd loved you so much and everything I'd done up to that point had been about having a life with you. But I didn't want to be your second choice, so I convinced myself that it was best for all of us, if I stuck to the plan and let you go on thinking that I didn't care."

She blinked away the tears that had formed in her eyes. The emotions stirred up by her confession threatening to overwhelm her again.

"I've spent so many years wearing the mask, that sometimes I forget the reasons I put it on in the first place; sometimes even I give in and switch it all off. I've had to, to survive as long as I have. But right here and right now I'm throwing all the masks away and begging you Damon. Please please forgive me. I love you, it's always been you from that first moment, and it will probably be you until the day someone stakes me." She reached up and cupped his cheek with one hand, her thumb stroking his cheekbone caressingly.

"I'm not asking for you to love me again, not right now, I'm just asking for you to give this thing between us a chance. I've spoken to Elijah and he's changed Damon. What Klaus did to him and his siblings has made him see things differently. He knows I love you and he's agreed to leave us alone." she smiled at him, hope and love clear in her eyes.

"Even if he hadn't, I think I still would have risked it. I've been alone so long and missed you so much and after seeing you again with Elena and seeing what you do for those you love, I knew I couldn't wait any more. I had to tell you, you had to know... even if it is too late. Please, I have to know, can we try again, is it really too late for us?"

Before Damon could even form a response to Katherine's bombshell; not that he had any idea how to respond, he was interrupted by Stefan's mocking laughter.

"Unfuckingbelievable. So everything you said to me was a lie? All of this was for Damon. Yeah right, Katherine. How fucking stupid do you think we are. I don' t know what you're up to, or what you really want but I don't believe a word of it. You're just tryi..."

"SHUT UP." Elena yelled rushing forward and grabbing her boyfriends arm. Yanking him around to face her she shoved him with both hands. He flew back into the wall and barely managed to stay standing.

"Stop Stefan, just stop! I believe every word she said. Katherine is telling you the truth and you really are a freaking idiot if you can't see it. I can see how much she loves him. Just look in her eyes... a blind man could see it."

Her eyes met Katherine's in total understanding before focusing again on Stefan.

"She's being honest for the first time ever and you will not take this away from your brother. This is about him, not you. Look at her, really look at her. " "My God, she's just like him."Elena gasped, trying not to give in to her own despair

"She's been and done what she needed to be, to protect what she loves, and you really can't stand that Damon is the one she's done it for, can you?"she spat out.

Her fists were clenched at her sides and her eyes were black with anger as she met Stefan's shocked expression.

"I love you Stefan but sometimes I really don't like you very much. And-and you know what." her eyes darted to Katherine's, before returning to his.

"Since it seems to be the day for clearing the air and being honest, I'm gonna get with the program. She took a deep breath.

"I do love you, but after seeing Katherine and hearing what she had to say, it made me face things I didn't want to face. I may still love you, but I am not in love with you... not anymore, and I'm pretty sure you aren't in love with me, either."

She held her hand up as he looked like speaking . "No, I'm not finished talking, just shut up for once and actually listen to me." she ordered.

"You wanna know why I believe Katherine, how I know she's telling the truth Stefan? I believe her, because I recognize that look in her eyes, it's the same look I have, whenever I look in the mirror after I've been with Damon." She shot out a short bitter laugh and shook her head.

"And the final fucking irony of this whole thing is, that it took seeing it on her face, for me to finally recognize what I've been too afraid to admit, because I'm a fucking stupid coward. I've messed everything up and you know what." she shook her head wonderingly.

"Ultimately, It doesn't matter. I Love Damon and it's because I love him, that I can't be selfish, I don't deserve him... but Katherine does, and that's the simple truth." She bit her lip and forced back the tears, determined to get through this without breaking down in front of them all.

" Now, you and I," her fingers circled his wrist and squeezed warningly " are going to leave these two alone to work out things out, because both of us, have hurt him way too much and we owe it to him to respect his space and his decisions. And you will not interfere, in any way. Do you understand me Stefan? "

She stared hard at him, before turning and facing Damon's stunned expression; knowing that he would have recognized the echo of his own words in hers.

"I'm so sorry Damon, you really do deserve everything you ever wanted, and I'm so happy that you are finally going to get it. Stefan loves you and after he's done being an enormous ass, I'm sure he'll come and apologize, so don't be too mad at him. You and I have spent so much time making it about him, protecting him from himself and then from the way I felt about you, that it's gonna take him a little adjustment. He'll get used to it, because you're his brother and you deserve to be happy, and no matter what he thinks he wants right now, deep down where it counts he loves you."

She raised her chin, squared her shoulders and did the only thing she could do... with her next words she let Damon go.

"So we're gonna go now and I'll see you in a few days, or I won't, I'll leave that up to you. And if you do decide to leave without saying goodbye. I'll understand. As long as you are safe and happy, that's all that counts, okay."

She turned to Katherine and locked eyes with her.

"Look after him for us, will you. And try to resist the temptation to kill him. I'd hate to have to track you down and stake you because you offed him in a moment of temper." She smiled wistfully. "Just be good to each other and promise me you'll bring him back to visit sometime. I'm glad you love him Katherine... I'm glad he has someone who loves him that much. Don't let him screw it up." she said fiercely.

"Come on Stefan." she ordered, opening the door. "Let's leave the two of them alone."

Glancing back once more as she left the room, Elena did her best not to burst into tears.

"Goodbye Damon... I'll see you... sometime." and with those words she closed the bedroom door behind her and her boyfriend? leaving Damon alone with the only woman, who really deserved his forgiveness.

_**So!... Katherine or Elena? What did you think of Kat's confession? And who want's more smut?**_

_**Review review review... **_


	4. Endings and Beginnings

Chapter Four  
Endings and Beginnings.

As soon as the door was closed, Elena was hit simultaneously by a wave of regret and grief. Oddly enough, it was followed by a very distinct feeling of relief and a sense of weightlessness that was quite unnerving.

She'd done it.

She had finally faced the worst thing she could imagine and she'd managed to do the right thing, without breaking down.

She had; in one fell swoop, admitted both her feelings for Damon and acknowledged that Stefan was no longer her be all and end all. She had faced the fact that what she'd felt was unrealistic; that she'd been clinging to a love that shied away from the things, that it might not have stood up against. Both she and Stefan had refused to let go of feelings that should have been left where they belonged, in the past. And now that she had, it felt nothing short of liberating.

Stefan had never really loved the girl inside of her, he'd loved the ideal of Elena that he saw when he looked at her. The one that made him feel human. And that was okay, because she was brave enough to admit, that she'd been just as guilty of the same wilful blindness.

Now if she could get past the fact, that she'd lost the man she loved because she'd been too stubborn to admit to loving him , she might actually be able to get on with her life, such as it was.

Unfortunately, when it came to Damon, getting over him would probably be as difficult as everything else had been in their relationship.

God, she hated Katherine Pierce. Especially since she couldn't really hate her, not after seeing and hearing what she'd seen tonight.

Katherine really loved Damon, it had been Damon all along and every misery in her doppelgangers life all came down to how she felt about him.

Well Damn! she could so relate to that.

What a little idiot I've been; how did I not see that Stefan wasn't the one anymore.

And speaking of Stefan. Tonight had been an eye opener in more ways than one.

She sighed as she headed towards the parlour and Damon's well stocked bar.

She could practically feel Stefan breathing down her neck and she knew he was most likely organizing his thoughts, undoubtedly lining them up so he could confront her in a calm and rational manner. Stefan didn't do impulsive and passionate, that had always been Damon's shtick.  
Christ, how had she never noticed how different they were. She was more like Damon in that. She sighed and poured herself a drink, she had a feeling she was going to need it... and more.

"Okay Stefan, just spit it out. Say whatever's on your mind, so I can get the hell out of here before they decide to come down stairs."

She turned to face him and waited. He didn't disappoint.

Both his expression and tone were contrite as he met her gaze.

"I'm sorry about what I said upstairs, I honestly didn't mean to upset you Elena. Damon just makes me crazy and Katherine... well, Katherine I just want to kill. I know how it probably looked" he offered, his eyes darting away nervously, before coming back to rest on her face. "But you know how Katherine just get's to me. Her and her games, they make me so mad and I don't stop to think, I just react. You know that I love you. That I want to be with you, not Katherine." he smiled tenderly and reached for her hand.

Elena sighed, shook her head and pulled her hand away.

She swallowed the contents of her glass in one gulp and then busied her hands pouring herself a second very large drink, before replying.

"Okay... I'm gonna take a leaf out of Damon's playbook and just call bullshit. So, bullshit Stefan. You were jealous and pissed off, because Katherine did to you, what you were quite happy for her to do to your brother. Nothing in that room tonight; was about me, it was all about Katherine. The only thing I can't quite work out, is whether it's because you really never got over her, or if it's because you can't stand to see someone choose Damon over you. Either way Stefan, regardless of what you say you feel for me, we are finished."

Taking a small sip of her drink, she studied the frown on his face as she thought over the events of the past hour and what they meant in the grand scheme of things.

She should just go, wait until she wasn't so emotional to have this conversation. But the bewilderment in her former boyfriends eyes decided her. He really didn't get what had just happened, what he'd tried to do to Damon. So she decided to tell him.

"You know Stefan, It may have taken me a while and it's way too late, but I realized something tonight. Damon is a way better brother to you... than you've ever been to him."

Holding her glass loosely in one hand, her eyes closed as she reached up with the other and rubbed at her forehead. God, why did this have to be so freaking hard.

Less than an hour ago, she'd been dodging Damon and worrying about what she was going to say the next time she saw him. Now, here she was with Stefan and all she could think about was how angry she was that he'd put her in this position. It was so obvious that he didn't love her, not in the way she'd believed, so why hadn't she seen it?  
All the time and tears she'd spent on being his girlfriend and he'd never even loved the real her. She didn't know what Stefan saw when he looked at her, but tonight she'd seen exactly how he felt about Katherine.

Her face softened as she thought of Damon and the way he'd looked at her in the past. The memory of what she'd now lost; dispelling the last of her reservations. She may as well tell Stefan the rest, after all, it was about time that he met the real Elena; the one only Damon had seen.

She took a breath and opened her eyes. Seeing the impatient look on Stefan's face didn't help, so she looked down at her glass instead.

"Okay, I didn't tell you before, because I didn't want you to get upset with me and angry at Damon. But here goes...Damon compelled me, twice. The first time, was the night my parents died... and before you say anything, he could have killed me outright with no repercussions, so don't even go there Stefan." she looked up and glared warningly.

"Instead, he told me he wanted me to get everything I wanted and then had me forget ever meeting him."  
She looked back down at her drink. "

"I realize in hindsight, that his behavior that night was because he must have known you had an interest in me. And yes at first, it did seem like he thought I was Katherine. But he was so quick to except that I wasn't, that he must have already known she had a doppelganger in town. Damon would have made it a priority to find out as much as he could about me, as soon as he knew of my existence. And I'd bet anything you like that he knew all about you watching me as well."

She looked up at his disbelieving murmur and stared pointedly, silently daring him to comment aloud.

"Anyway the second time, was the night after you both came and rescued me from Rose and Elijah. He came by to return my necklace and he did return it, but not before telling me he loved me and that he didn't deserve me, but that you did. Don't you see Stefan, a big part of the reason he compelled me to forget his confession was because he loved you, he didn't want to cause you pain. He..."

"He what Elena?" Stefan cut in, finally unable to stay silent.

"Are you going to tell me he was being noble... how... in what way? You weren't his to give up, you were mine," he scoffed heatedly. "He was just being his usual dramatic self, because he couldn't stand the thought that he'd lost another woman to me. It wasn't because he cared about me, it was because he knew he didn't have a hope in hell with you. And you know that."

He crossed his arms and stared at her, as though daring her to contradict him.

She shrugged and made a rude noise. Wow talk about being arrogant, who the hell did he think he was. She crossed her arms and met his glare with her coldest look.

"Okay Stefan, what you said just then, it was way beyond wrong," she stated, her tone glacial. "Firstly, I am not a piece of property, so you can get that 'mine' stuff right out of your head. Secondly, your brother is a gorgeous guy that had already proved that he cared about me. For pete's sake Stefan, he came with you to rescue me and risked his life to do it. And in case you've forgotten, he was the one that actually staked Elijah with that coat rack." She shook her head in disgust.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but I was attracted to him from the moment we met and I'll let you in on a little secret, though I'd bet anything you like, that Damon already knows it."

She smiled tiredly as she thought of how smug Damon would be, if he could hear her right now.

"If Damon had been even the tiniest bit less of a dick... I might not have found it quite so easy to convince myself that it was you I wanted. Seriously Stefan, I know he's your brother, but even you have to admit he's ridiculously hot and can be extremely charming when he wants' to be. I might have been in love with you, but I wasn't blind. And I can admit it now, because it doesn't matter anymore... I was very tempted, way more than even Damon knew. Fortunately for you, he kept doing asshole things that allowed me to rein it in."

She smirked, an expression that Stefan found eerily familiar.

"Anyway all this is water under the bridge. I've blown it with Damon and I'm going to have to live with that, just like you're going to have to accept that you and I are finished."

Her smile turned wistful as she studied Stefan's face.

"I'm a vampire now and I have eternity, so eventually we can probably salvage a friendship out of this, but at the moment, after your performance upstairs..." She brought her glass to her mouth, pausing, a considering expression on her face as she spoke.

"Well, to be honest, I really don't want to see you any time soon. I'm too mad with myself for wasting my time and my feelings on someone that never really got me. Vampire or human. So I'm going to finish," she waggled her drink, "this glass of Damon's favourite, very very expensive bourbon and then I'm going home to cry into my pillow."

She shot him a determined look.

"And Stefan, don't even bother trying to change my mind. It's not going to happen. And while we're on the subject of changing minds... Leave your brother and Katherine alone. let him be happy for once and be the man I know you want to be, not the one I saw upstairs."

With those last words she downed the rest of her drink, pecked him on the cheek and left the house with vampire speed.

By the time Stefan's brain caught up with everything she'd said, she was long gone, and even Stefan knew when to admit defeat. At least for now.

Pouring a drink of his own, he turned drink in hand and headed up to his room to do some thinking of his own.

Damon was oddly quiet after Stefan and Elena left the bedroom. Katherine knew that everything she'd said had to have come as a shock, but she was crawling out of her skin waiting for him to give her an answer.

Truthfully, he was both confused and angry. He was also shocked and resentful and really really tired. He'd had a very long and emotionally exhausting day and that was before Katherine had turned up.

He knew Katherine was waiting for him to answer her earlier question, but every time he tried to gather his thought's and formulate some semblance of a reply, the unreality of the whole situation kept hitting him.

Less than two hours ago; was it really only two hours? He'd been resigned to the fact that he'd probably be better off if he left Mystic Fall's. He'd known without a doubt in his mind, that Elena would never love him the way he wanted and that staying in town would mean watching her slowly destroy herself, while he stood by helpless to fix things. Unwanted by yet another woman, for anything other than the occasional use of extra muscle; Damon had been on the verge of finally calling the town, his brother and Elena quits.

Katherine's appearance had thrown him for an unexpected loop. His decision to sleep with her; at first, just another symptom of the rapidly growing self destructive streak, that he' seemingly acquired since returning home to the town of his birth.

He'd known from the first moment that he'd given in to his desire, that sleeping with Katherine would only hurt him in the long run and quite possibly even sooner. But she had looked so much like Elena and acted so unlike the Katherine he'd come to hate, that he'd found he didn't have the will to resist. And yeah, maybe a small part of him had needed to just feel wanted; even if it was only for his body. In that moment he could pretend; to himself at least, that Katherine was with him because she really wanted to be.

And now his whole world view had been set on its ass.

The inescapable truth of Damon's existence had and always would be, that he would always come in second to his brother. Desired but never loved, needed but never wanted; that had been his life ever since he realized that Katherine had never been in the tomb. Loving Elena had been just another cross to bear; one that he'd taken up gladly, but without any real hope of her ever being his.

Then Stefan had gone to ask Klaus for that damn cure and it had changed everything.

Suddenly, being around Elena became a necessity that he couldn't avoid and it had only intensified the feelings, ones that he'd been trying; on the whole, to ignore. They had grown closer while looking for Stefan and Elena's black and white view of the world had changed, as had her feelings for Damon.

They'd both done their best to ignore them, but inside of Damon something had shifted and he'd found himself cursed with sudden hope. Then after months of uncertainty, frustration and the see saw of; will she won't she, Elena had chosen his brother yet again. And of course, it only made sense in his fucked up existence, that having made the decision she'd go and get herself turned into a vampire and complicate his life all over again.

In his mind he'd been packed and ready; waiting for the inevitable and determined to honour he and his brothers agreement. He should have known that her becoming a vampire would screw it all up. She had needed him, but nothing had really changed, it was still all about Stefan.

Now out of the blue, everything he knew to be fact had turned out to be the complete opposite. Katherine Pierce loved him, she was in love with Him; he was the only one she wanted and she had told his brother as much. And right to his self righteous bunny eating face, at that.

He tried the words out in his head just to see how they'd feel.

Katherine is in love with me, she doesn't want Stefan, she never loved Stefan.

Yeah...well, that's not getting any less weird anyway I look at it.

And then, just to confuse matters even more, Elena had picked tonight to have some sort of epiphany. Though what the fuck that was all about, he hadn't quite worked out yet.

He sighed and closed his eyes wearily.

They opened seconds later when he felt Katherine's tiny hand stroke his chest. Glancing down at the woman that was still nestled in to his side, he was struck by the change in her face. The hard look that she'd always carried was gone, replaced by a look of concern and more than a little trepidation. Then there was the love.

Katherine's eyes shone with it. She was looking at him with an expression he'd only ever seen on Elena's face and then only directed towards his brother. To be honest, it was so unexpected that Damon didn't know what to do with it.

So he leaned down and kissed her.


	5. Fool me Once

Chapter Five

Fool me once.

Katherine sighed as Damon's mouth settled over hers. She knew they should talk, that she had no idea where she really stood with him, that she'd only be opening herself up for more pain if she slept with him again.

He knew the truth finally, the sordid pathetic circumstances of her life were now public knowledge. She had no more walls to hide behind and no pride to salvage if he rejected her. Sleeping with him, giving in to the passion and love now that he knew the truth; it was the final surrender in a war she was fated to lose from the first day they'd met. For so long he'd been the goal, the prize behind all of her plans and schemes and until that night on Elena's porch, it had never occurred to her that he might not be there when she was finally ready.

When she had fled Mystic fall's after delivering Stefan's cure, she had left full of rage and hurt, determined to move on and forget about Damon Salvatore. But that had lasted all of a week before she was throwing herself back into the middle of things. After all, she was Katarina Petrova and a Petrova never gave up.

So she'd done what she could. She'd tracked Stefan under the pretext of love and by doing so, had made sure to keep Damon out of it as much as possible. Even running Michael to ground, had more to do with Damon's safety than her own freedom. And through it all, Damon had never wavered in his love for Elena Gilbert. In the end it was that unassailable fact that had made her decide to let him go, at least for the present.

Because of course, a human lifetime was nothing to a vampire. She had already been without him for nearly a century and a half. What was another sixty or seventy years to someone who had eternity, she could wait. Eventually her doppelganger would be dead and Damon's heart would be free again. She might even have found another way to get rid of Klaus by then.

And then the news reached her; Elena had become a vampire and it had changed everything for Katherine.

So she'd slipped back into town and watched from the sidelines. She'd seen the distance forming between Elena and Stefan and her growing reliance and barely veiled need for Damon. She'd also seen the way Elena had still been doing her best to deny it and tonight's careless cruelty towards him, had made up Katherine's mind.

Elena Gilbert was a selfish little idiot, that wouldn't know a good thing if it bit her. And hadn't. Yes, Damon was a sarcastic ruthless bastard, who called a spade a spade, but he'd been doing everything he could to get Elena past her transition and into a place where she could have some sort of balance. And what had he got for his efforts? Scorn, insults and the complete disregard of his feelings. It had made Katherine's blood boil and shored up her belief, the certainty, that her little dopplebitch did not deserve him.

Katherine decided that it was time to fight. Yes, she could have borne him pining after a human Elena, she after all, had an expiration date. But there was no way she was going to let little Miss Gilbert the vampire, lead him around by the nose. She just would not have it. Damon had been made for her, he was a vampire because she'd willed it and it was time he knew everything.

And that's what had brought her to now, to Damon's arms and bed. And left her wondering; how much more of her heart she could risk and still expect to survive?

As his lips moved from her mouth to her throat, Katherine was torn with indecision. She had dreamt of this so often over the years. The realization that making love with him surpassed her memories, or any of the many dreams she'd had, was truly eye opening. But could she allow this to happen again, now that he knew that for her it was truly lovemaking and not just sex .

His teeth scraped across her throat and she shuddered.

Sense memory rippled through her; memories of them in the shower, his fangs and cock buried deep inside her body reawakening her need and dispelling her doubts. The overwhelming desire she felt for him; returning in a rush that left her helpless to resist.

_Fuck it! I can worry about him loving me tomorrow._ Tonight I just want this, I want him.

Katherine arched her neck in surrender, both to Damon and to her own desire. The movement was a sensual tease, an invitation and an acceptance both physical and symbolic. Damon might not know she'd given in, but she had. For the first time in she didn't remember how long, she was going to be with a man and hold nothing back. Not passion, strength, nor joy and most especially, not love.

Damon felt Katherine shudder under him, felt her relax and give in to his touch and knew that here would be no more conversation tonight.

His mouth on her collarbone; he smiled against her skin. It was nice to know that Katherine at least, was not immune to his skill.

Kissing and nipping under her chin, he ran one hand down her throat and across her shoulders; in a teasing promise that his mouth would soon follow.

His fingers caressing and relearning each inch of her skin as they moved over her body . He touched her as if blind, exploring every curve and crevice, every line or indentation; her body a map that could only be read and known completely, by taste and touch alone.

His tongue darted out to taste the saltines of her skin as his mouth slid across her clavicle, his fingers skimming lightly over one hard nipple before sweeping down to her thigh. The hand lingered there for a moment, before returning to her breast to cup and stroke the underside, his mouth slowly travelling down to join it.

Lathing her breast with the flat of his tongue, his lips and teeth teased, never quite making contact with her hardened nipple, before moving on to do the same with her other breast.

Katherine gasped, her hands coming up to cradle his head and her back arching as she tried to get closer, urged him to give more. Free hand sliding down the smooth length of her thigh, Damon moved his mouth back to her other breast, teeth nibbling and nipping lightly before lengthening to fangs. Scraping delicately across the tightly budded nipple, he bit down gently but hard enough to draw blood, before closing his mouth over the punctures and suckling.

Her hands tightened in his hair as she felt the pull of blood from her breast, an answering twinge in her core making her squirm with fresh need.

Releasing her breast Damon shifted and turned so their bodies were head to toe .Placing both hands now on her thighs he stroked lightly and waited for her. When he felt her small hand curl around his cock he bit back a groan. Doing his best to concentrate and push his own need away he bent his head back to her body. Then still using only his fangs, he dragged them lightly across her skin, pausing now and then to leave sharp pinpricks of bright blood, which he hungrily erased with mouth and tongue.

Hands on the underside of her thighs, he urged them to open wider as he moved down, his head pillowed on one of her now parted legs.

He carefully teased the inside of the other thigh with his deadly teeth, never quite hard enough to break skin and just short of painful, until the scent of her arousal was nearly overwhelming.

Retracting his fangs for the moment, he lifted his head and moved to place open mouthed kisses on curls that glistened wetly with her arousal.

She bucked up to meet him, obvious in her need for more.

Spurred on by that need and his own increasing arousal, he slid his hands around her thighs in a slow teasing caress, his fingers dancing across the wet heat of her centre. Stroking upwards a little more firmly he framed her pussy with his hands, then using both thumbs to part her folds, he deliberately breathed a stream of heated air across her clit.

Katherine moaned, her breath ghosting over his cock. Her softly gasped please, sending a shiver of heightened lust arcing through him. When her fingers tightened around his shaft, it took every bit of his experience not to buck into her caress.

Using just the tip of his tongue, he traced the edges of her folds, then wetting his fingers with his own saliva he moved one hand slowly and deliberately downwards, applying just enough pressure to tease but not to relieve her desire for more.

When both her movement and moans became more desperate he employed both his tongue and lips, gradually spiralling closer to her clit with each lick and gentle suck, his fingers teasing her entrance as he drew closer to his goal.

When she moaned his name and thrust up against his face he took pity on them both.

Staving off the desire to push his tongue deep inside her so he could taste her properly, he used his fingers to part her folds, licked firmly across her clit and thrust two of them inside her very wet entrance.

She lunged up hard against his mouth whimpering and Damon responded by groaning and increasing the pace of his tongue in a fast and fluttering motion, while his fingers moved deep inside her, seeking that place that far too many men overlooked.

Flicking his fingers firmly back and forth across her internal bundle of nerves, his tongue still in motion. He fastened his mouth over her aching pussy and sucked more firmly as she began to writhe desperately; soft pleas for release falling from her lips.

Her internal muscles tightened around his fingers, her gasps and cries for release becoming louder and he knew she was close.

Damon opened his mouth wider, his tongue still busily flicking and stroking as he waited for her to fall over the edge into pleasure. Seconds later when her body began convulsing in the beginnings of her orgasm, Damon brought his fangs out to play.

With vampire speed his head darted to the side and he sank his razor sharp fangs into the juncture of her thigh and drank. Replacing his mouth with his thumb as she bucked and shrieked, his fingers thrust harder and faster, his own carefully tempered desire rising as she came apart under his skilled touch.

Seconds later he felt her hand tighten on his cock and the unexpected sharp sting of her fangs as she sank them in to his own thigh.

Taking small sips of her blood as she in turn drank from him, Damon's head swam with pleasure, her aged and powerful essence filling his head with stars of brightness. Her blood spoke to him of home, of days of love and warmth and nights filled with the passion of the hunt.

But underneath those desires , he could also taste her aching loneliness and her fierce need to survive. Her need to be wanted and loved, as much a part of her as her the vampire need to kill and feed.

Swallowing her blood; taking it inside himself, Damon tasted Katarina Petrova and knew her truly, for the very first time.

She was proud and fierce, cunning and selfish, childlike and cruel, loving and passionate. She was all things, all women and her blood called to him like no others ever had. She was lover and sire and he had never known a woman like her.

He felt the pull of his own blood leaving his body as Katherine continued to drink from him. Her grip was firm and her thumb teased lazily at the head of his cock, even as her other hand massaged and stroked his balls. Her hand left his balls for a moment only to return wet with the blood and saliva from her mouth. She stroked once across his sack, then cupping his balls firmly in her palm she ran one finger along the crack of his ass, stopping briefly to massage and tease the space between his balls and anus. Then without warning, she pulled hard on his blood, simultaneously plunging a finger deep inside his ass.

Damon came with a snarl, the orgasm pulled from his body as the physical act and blood connection swept through him. Seconds later the blood he was drinking from her swirled through his body and his through hers, a never ending circuit that locked them into an experience that neither of them could have imagined. The mingling of their blood, opening pathways into each other's deepest and most hidden places.

As Damon retracted his fangs and swallowed the last of her blood, he knew that Katherine's words had been as true. She felt for him what she had felt for no other.

As her blood settled deep inside him, he knew that she loved him with a reckless possessive passion, a need that bordered on obsession and with a selfishness, that was intrinsically her own.

But with the mingling of their blood he also realized something else. He knew as true and as deep as her feelings were, they were only part of a much larger story.

Yes, Katherine had been telling the truth, but her earlier words were only part of the true tale. He should have guessed from her reaction and her words to Stefan that there was more than what she'd confessed.

When Damon drank from Katherine and all but invited her to drink from him at the same time, he hadn't stopped to think. He'd heard stories and rumours about what it was like to share blood with the one who was of your blood. Cautionary tales, about how sharing blood that near to your own and at the same time, should not be done lightly. But he had no idea what any of it really meant. And now he did.

He'd always known that vampire blood was the stuff of magic, that it carried both curse and gift. But now he also knew there was one gift that it gave unwittingly. The gift of truth. Truth, that could be tasted only within the blood bond of sharing, and only between the vampire and the one who they'd turned. Now he knew why most vampires warned against it and some few craved it. Nothing was hidden from those who drank, everything ever experienced was there to be read no matter what.

It was no wonder that Sage had been loath to share her knowledge of the act. To admit to being that open with anyone, no matter how much you might love them would be hard enough, but to have shared blood and to have known someone that completely only to lose them... Well at least he now understood her faith in Fin's love for her.

God knows he was wishing he could take it back, unknow what he now knew.

Because Yes, he knew Katherine had truly loved him, but he also knew she'd wanted his brother just as much. She'd loved them both, wanted them both and had been devastated by their defection to Elena.

It was all there in her blood; a story to waiting to be read.

Damon; she'd loved because she could see his future as a vampire. A suitable and fierce mate that would hunt by her side, kill for her favour, and adore her until the stars failed. Her vampire nature had recognized his potential the moment she'd laid eyes on him and she had wanted him by her side forever.

But it was the girl inside Katherine, the part that was still Katarina Petrova that had loved Stefan. Katarina loved the boy that held her hand and courted her with sweet kisses. The boy that made her believe; if only for a few stolen moments, that she could have back what she'd lost the night she'd run from Klaus. The part of her that mourned her life and her innocence, was also the part that had loved Stefan.

Katherine had loved Damon for loving the monster in her, but she'd fallen for Stefan because he had loved what was left of her humanity.

And just as he'd tasted these truths in their mingled blood he also tasted the truth behind the missing half of her tale.

Katherine Pierce had been compelled to forget ever loving Stefan, she'd been told to only remember her feelings for Damon, to forget the other Salvatore had ever been important to her.

And it was Elijah that had had done it. He'd fucked with her mind, deliberately erasing that part of her and sending her to Damon. She'd had half her life story altered and she didn't even know it.

As Damon swallowed the last of her blood and the wholly shocking and unexpected truth with it, he was left feeling both furious and confused by Elijah's actions. And utterly at a loss over what he was supposed to do about it.

Elijah must have known that there was a possibility that blood sharing might happen at some stage, so he had to know Damon would taste the compulsion. So what the fuck was he up to? Did he think that Damon would turn her down, was that it? Or maybe, Elijah hoped that if he did find out he would be so happy to have a loving and adoring Kat falling at his feet, that he wouldn't care that she'd been compelled. Or it could be it just be that Elijah didn't think that Katherine would allow the sharing?

Shit! It could have been any number of reasons. Maybe he just didn't care either way. Elijah was a cold bastard at the best of times, but doing this was beyond cold and Damon was fuming.

Playing with Katherine's head was one thing, but to do something like this was cruel, not only to her, but to Damon himself. Sure; Katherine did love him, she had told the truth about that part. She really had loved him from the moment she'd met him, but it wasn't the sort of love that Damon wanted anymore, not since knowing Elena. And now that she'd been compelled to forget all about her feelings for Stefan, even if Damon did want her, it would always be with the knowledge that without compulsion, he'd still be sharing her love.

Damn!

Obviously, what he needed to do was find Elijah and get him to break the compulsion.

He groaned, the after effects of both the blood and his orgasm compromising his ability to think clearly, he needed to come up with a plan but his body just wanted to curl up and sleep. Sadly, his mind seemed to be in agreement, it wasn't relishing leaving the bed to go face down an original and an uncertain outcome.

Beside which, there were only two people that knew where Elijah was... Katherine and Rebecca. Unfortunately, he couldn't ask for Rebecca's help. She hated his gut's and would undoubtedly be happy that Katherine no longer wanted Stefan, especially when she learned that Stefan and Elena were currently on the outs . Katherine was out as well, for the obvious reason. And assuming that he even managed to locate the Original, there was also the small task of getting Elijah to undo the compulsion without getting himself staked.

He groaned internally, staring blindly at the puncture marks that were the cause of his turmoil his mind swam with regret.

Kissing the bite's that he'd left on her inner thigh apologetically, he berated himself for putting both himself and Katherine in this position. If he'd kept his fangs to himself this never would of happened. Damon briefly considered that taking a walk in Mr Sunshine was probably a better option and far less painful than what he was considering.

Because of course, that only left one person that had both a chance of finding and convincing Elijah to lift the compulsion. It was also the last person he wanted to get involved. Elena Gilbert was not someone he wanted pity from, not ever.

_Fucking great! I'm really looking forward to that conversation._

And if that wasn't bad enough, in the meantime he had to find a way to extract himself from Katherine's company, without alerting her to what he knew.

There was no use telling her the truth if Elijah refused to reverse it and if tonight had done nothing else, it had shown him that Katherine did love him and had wanted him. The fact that she also wanted and loved his brother didn't change that, it only made him understand her a little better. With the added bonus of helping him to finally let his anger at her go. She was what she was, and he'd known that from the night he'd found out she was a vampire, he'd just forgotten it for a while.

Besides, he'd been fooling both of them when he let her into his bed, there was nothing she could do or say, no matter how true or well meaning, that would change what he felt.

It wouldn't have mattered, if it had been only him. The love he'd once had for Katherine was nothing compared to what he'd felt for Elena. In truth, what he still felt.

Whatever hold Katherine had still had on his heart had been lost in a shitty Georgia carpark; lost with his brothers girl standing over his beaten body, begging for his life. He loved Elena; it would always be Elena and not even the woman who had made him a vampire could change that.

But he still knew what it felt to be second choice; even if it had turned out not to have been totally true. And regardless of the truth, there was no way he'd ever do that to anyone.

Damn Elijah. What the fuck was he thinking?

Distracted by his thoughts, Damon was startled when he found himself suddenly and unexpectedly flipped onto his back.

As Katherine settled on his thighs, her flat belly brushing his cock with her every movement, Damon was reminded, rather pleasurably, that he'd actually been in the middle of having sex with the woman above him.

Giving an internal shrug, he thrust back against her grinding movements, figuring that the quicker he exhausted her, the quicker he'd get to leave.

Mind shying away from the thought of Elena and what he'd say to her, especially after her earlier words to him, Damon turned his attention back to Katherine. This was the last time he'd ever be with her if he could get Elijah to reverse the compulsion, so he might as well make the best of it, for both of them.

Giving in to his desire for her body, and trying not to imagine it was Elena rather than Katherine. Damon decided that no matter what happened after tonight, he was determined this would be his last night in Mystic Falls.

If the worst came to the worst and Elijah refused to reverse it, then Damon would plead with him to wipe her feelings for the second Salvatore as well. It would be far better if Kat didn't love either of them, if neither could return it. And after seeing the truth of her feelings and knowing how it felt to have your love unrequited, he wouldn't wish that on her, or anyone.

His thought's fractured, as the warmth of Katherine's tight pussy enveloped his cock. Giving himself over to pleasure, Damon stopped thinking at all.


	6. Shame on me

Chapter Six

Elena perched on her window seat and looked blankly out into the night. The cup of hot chocolate she held now cold, as she sat and thought about everything that had happened in the last twenty four hours.

She'd been home for nearly three hours and her brain wouldn't slow down long enough to give her any peace. Two more tumblers of bourbon, a hot shower and the afore mentioned cup of hot chocolate, had failed to make any difference to her chaotic thoughts and sleep seemed like an impossibility in her current state.

Her mind had been running things over and over in her head and the only conclusion she had reached, was that she was probably the biggest idiot in the world not to have seen what should have been obvious.

It wasn't like the clues weren't all there. She'd just been too blind to see them.

Stefan had chosen to save Damon, knowing that he'd most likely never see her again. Then he'd chosen vengeance against Klaus, over their being together. And last but by no means least, he'd put her choice to save Matt first, ahead of her life. And even though it was what she had wanted at the time, there was a small part of her that couldn't help wondering how honoring her choices could be more important to him, than saving the life of the woman he was supposed to love.

In the end, she'd come to the unavoidable conclusion that his were not the actions of someone who was in love and that she'd been too stupid to recognize that fact before, when it might have made a difference.

But wasn't she just as guilty for burying her head in the sand.

She'd known she was attracted to Damon ever since that night in Georgia. Even with all the horrible and traumatic things he'd done to her since they'd first met, it hadn't changed the quivering feeling she got when she allowed herself to look in his eyes. She'd leant on him, relied on him, cried on his shoulder and trusted Damon to help after Stefan had left with Klaus. And not once, had she been brave enough to ask herself why that was.

Or why it was still that way, all this time later. And if she was honest with herself, it had only gotten worse after she became a vampire. Hence her little feeding date with Damon only last night.

She winced as she remembered her words to him.

Good one Elena, is it any wonder that he's in bed with Katherine at this very moment. Hell, she wouldn't blame him if he left without town even saying goodbye. If he did, it would serve her right.

Staring down at the cup in her hands she sighed and forced her body to move.

She was heading towards her bed after placing her cup on the bathroom counter, when she heard the telltale whoosh of sound that heralded a vampire's entrance to her bedroom.

She groaned. "Stefan I thought I told you... "

Her words trailed off as she turned to face what she thought would be her ex, only to find Damon perched on her window sill.

Damon cocked a brow at her annoyed tone, a half smirk on his face as Elena's eyes widened at this presence.

"Trouble in paradise Elena? Don't tell me you two crazy kids are still fighting."

"D-Damon, what are you doing here? Where's Katherine?"

Elena crossed her arms in an unconscious gesture of defence, her heart thumping in her ears as she took in the fact that Damon was in her bedroom and he seemed to be alone.

He did his eye flirt thing and Elena actually had to clench her fists hard and remind herself that he was Katherine's. She had no right getting all week in the knees, especially when she'd had more than enough opportunities to return both his flirty looks and his feelings.

"Katherine is currently sleeping the sleep of the thoroughly exhausted."

He smirked and Elena flushed as she caught on to his meaning.

"But my sexual prowess aside," he gestured offhandedly "you and I need to have a little talk and then I'm going to ask you a teeny tiny favor. And if things go the way I want, I can promise you this will be the first and last time I impose upon your good nature to ask for help."

Elena frowned at his words. His demeanor was vintage Damon, careless and cavalier, but his eyes looked tired and his smirk didn't reach them. As a matter of fact, he looked stressed and more than a little worried and it was setting of her Damon alarms.

"Sure Damon, what do you need." she replied, careful to keep her tone casual.

"You know if there's anything I can do I'll be happy to help."

Damon's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Elena was being way too nice and she hadn't even rolled her eyes once at his sexual innuendo's. What was up with that?

No, he wasn't going to do this, not again. Elena Gilbert was not his problem and she'd made it more than clear only last night, that she didn't want his concern and would barely tolerate his help.

So what if she'd seemed different earlier, she wouldn't be the first woman, to have a moment over an unwanted suitor. Katherine coming back and Elena finding him in bed with her had to have been a shock. She might not want him herself, not like he wanted her, but it didn't mean she didn't care about him.

If anything, Elena cared too much for everyone in her life and she was one of the few people that knew the truth about Katherine and the Salvatore brothers. She was just being a friend when she'd stuck up for him tonight, it wasn't even the first time. He just had to remind himself of that and stop assigning importance to actions, that were nothing more than those of simple friendship.

His expression softened as he thought about how she'd defended him against Stefan and he decided then and there that he was going to enjoy the time he had left in her company. Because he was nearly certain, that once he got this mess with Katherine and Elijah cleaned up, he'd be leaving town.

"Anything Elena? Because I can definitely think of one or two things you could do that would help me a whole lot." He ran his eyes over her suggestively and waited for her usual blush and indignant scolding.

Elena swallowed hard.

God, he really had no idea what he did to her when he looked at her like that. It had been bad enough when she'd still been mostly clueless and it was a thousand times worse, now she knew what she really felt for him.

And great, now he was looking at her funny because she'd spaced out when she was supposed to be paying attention. Jesus, what did he expect her to say when he acted like that, surely he had to know that things between them were different now. How could he not realize that her feelings for him were pure torture, now that he was back together with Katherine.

Then again, Katherine wasn't here. Damon had left her asleep at the boarding house and here he was in her bedroom getting his flirt on. Well two could play at that game, she thought defiantly.

Elena glided towards him and placed her hand on his chest. Looking up from under downcast lashes she pouted.

"Maybe you should tell me exactly what it is that you need from me Damon?" she all but purred. "I'm sure I can find a way to accommodate you. After all, I'm pretty sure I owe you a favor or three."

Her fingers casually toying with the buttons on his shirt, she deliberately licked her lips while studying his expression.

Gotcha she thought, watching his eyes dilate and his sudden inhalation of breath, both a dead giveaway that he really hadn't expected her to call his bluff.

Damon was more than shocked, when Elena not only didn't bite at his teasing, but actually turned the tables on him. Her totally unexpected sex kitten act, had him hardening in his jeans and left him more confused than he could ever remember. What the hell had gotten into her, she should have been tearing strips off him by now? Instead, she looked like she was more inclined to climb him and take him for a test drive.

His eyes narrowed as she continued to play with his shirt.

Vampire Elena made him crazy.

One minute she was all over him and the next she was treating him like poison, then she defended him and acted like nothing had happened, and that was all in the space of twenty four hours. But this, this was new. This Elena was not one he'd seen before, not with him. To be honest it was throwing him right off his game and after everything that had happened with Katherine, he was far too tired for any sort of game that wasn't his.

Damon decided to do what he did best when it came to Elena, he decided to ignore his rampaging hormones and her mixed signals and get straight to the point.

"Actually since you mentioned it, you're right, you do owe me and tonight's the lucky night I get to collect." He waggled his eyebrows teasingly and continued before she could puzzle out what he'd meant with that comment.

"Right then, I'm not going to bore you with the details of why, but I need you to track down Elijah for me and then I need you to ask him very nicely if he would mind fixing the little problem that he's caused. And don't ask."

He sighed and rolled his eyes at her startled look.

"Elijah will know what I'm talking about. And the you not knowing why part...Well we'll just consider it repayment for all those times I saved yours and Stefan's asses and call it even."

Seeing the glare she was now directing his way, Damon groaned internally. Fuck, she was really pushing all his buttons tonight. Didn't she realize that her glaring at him like that, was more of a turn on than her deliberate come hither act could ever be.

Shaking off his desire for her, he focused on what he'd come here to do.

"C'mon Elena chop chop. Times a wasting and if I know you like I think I know you, you'll have his cell, his email and quite possibly his social security number."

Damon chuckled at the look on her face. The sex kitten had been replaced by indignant child, but the pout she threw his way was still adorable.

"I don't have his social security number." she muttered crossly "Stupid know it all vampire." She grabbed her phone from her bedside table and after playing with it for less than twenty seconds she met his amused look with one of her own.

"What do you want me to ask him?"

Damon's mind went blank for a moment, but he quickly shook it off when she waggled her phone impatiently.

"You won't have to ask him anything, just get him to agree to meet... actually, just to be safe, don't even mention me. Tell him you need to see him urgently," he waved his hand at her confused frown "make something up, it doesn't matter what, just get him here asap."

Elena's brow smoothed out, but her expression was still uncertain as she pressed the call pad.

After barely three rings, it was picked up and Elijah's cultured voice was asking what he could do for her.

Her mind flailed for a moment, thrown by his quick response.

"Ah hi... Um... sorry to ring you so late, I hope I didn't wake you?" when he replied in the negative and once again asked her why she was calling, Elena caught her lip between her teeth and shot Damon a pleading look.

Damon shook his head and shrugged.

Scrabbling for something to say, Elena latched on to the only thing that had been on her mind, since she'd burst into Damon's room and found him with Katherine.

"Elijah, did you know Katherine is back in town?"

"Why yes Elena, I did have some idea she might be heading your way. She came to see me a few days ago and mentioned that she would be staying in Mystic Falls for the immediate future. I take it you've seen her?"

"Yes, I've seen her. She was at the boarding house tonight... she was with Damon."

Elena tried desperately to keep her tone neutral as Damon's attention sharpened with her words. She turned her back on him and continued her discussion. Knowing that Damon would be able to hear both sides of the conversation, she did her best to hide the jealousy in her voice.

"I was wondering if you could come over, I'm worried about Damon and I really need to speak to someone that knows Katherine. I know it's a lot to ask Elijah, but I can't seem to relax knowing she's back."

"Ah, I take it our dear Katherine has seen fit to stake her claim then. Hmm, she always was a fast mover when it came to getting what she wants". He mused thoughtfully.

"But forgive me, I'm being insensitive, I'm sure you are quite frantic over the situation. I'll come at once." He paused and Elena thought he'd hung up for a moment.

"I'm sorry Elena, I know how hard this must be for you, now that you are a vampire. If it helps any, I have it on good authority that Katherine is not intending to interfere with yours and Stefan's relationship. As a matter of fact, she assured me that she was only interested in Damon and that she would be endeavouring to do her best to get him to leave town with her. I hope that has put your mind at rest somewhat, at least until I arrive. I will see you shortly" he finished, ringing off before she could reply.

Elena stared at the phone in her hand. Somehow, hearing the words from Elijah's mouth, made her impending loss real, in a way it hadn't been with Katherine.

She had lost Damon; he was really going to leave and there was nothing she could do about it.

Her shoulders stiffened, as she tried to fight back the tears that were welling in her eyes. She couldn't let Damon know how Elijah's words had affected her, the last thing she needed from him was his pity.

Still facing away from him, she chewed on her lip and tried to master her composure.

"You heard?"

Damon frowned. He could see how tightly her shoulders had tensed and her voice sounded brittle and on edge for all its brevity.

"Yeah I heard. How long?"

She sighed and slumped slightly at his impersonal tone. Her arms came up to wrap around herself, in an unconsciously defensive move that she had no control over.

"It's Elijah, so anywhere from five to fifteen minutes. He seemed concerned, so probably closer to five." She turned towards him slightly and shot him a quick glance.

His expression was distant, if slightly thoughtful. Elena felt her heart clench in her chest, at how far away from her he seemed. Physically, he was only a step or two away, but emotionally? She feared he'd never been further out of her reach, than he was at this moment.

"So how do you want to do this? I know you said it has nothing to do with me and you don't want me involved, Damon. But Elijah is not going to be happy that I got him here under false pretenses. I think it might be better if I hung around to buffer some of his annoyance, at least for the first couple of minutes."

Crap! He cursed under his breath. What was he supposed to say to that, she was completely right. He needed Elijah in a receptive mood, not pissed off because they'd played him. But that meant Elena finding out the truth and he wasn't sure he could take the pitying looks, never mind the well meaning commiseration, that she would undoubtedly send his way.

Oh fuck it. It's not like she hadn't seen him at his lowest and most pathetic before. She'd been with him in the tomb the night he'd learned the truth about Katherine. Hell, she'd seen him after he'd staked Rose. This wasn't any worse than those two incidents, it was just another sad chapter in the pathetic life of Damon Salvatore. If he was really lucky, he'd probably score another hug out of it at least.

He sighed and met her gaze.

"Right, no making a federal case out of what I'm about to tell you and no soft poor puppy looks either," he warned.

"It seems our friend Elijah, got it in to his head to alter Katherine's mind just a smidge." His thumb and index finger millimetres apart, he squinted at his hand before letting it drop to look at her.

"The long and the short of it, well... she's been compelled to forget a very important part of her past and I need Elijah to undo it."

As he finished speaking, he prayed that she wouldn't ask him for details, but looking at her expression and the look in her eyes, he really didn't like his chances of getting off that easily.

Elena's eyes widened with Damon's explanation, her mind going in a hundred different directions, as she thought of all the possibilities.

"Are you sure? I can't believe Elijah would do something like that. It doesn't seem like the Elijah I know, not at all. What was it that he compelled her to forget, Damon? I mean how bad could it be?"

Damon opened his mouth to answer, but before he could speak another voice interrupted.

"Oh, I rather think her compulsion was very far from bad," Elijah drawled, from his perch on the window sill. "As a matter of fact I think it was quite selfless, though I must admit, it was the last request I'd ever have expected from Katerina. I was actually quite floored, that she would be so... Hmm, what's the word I'm looking for. Ah yes, compassionate, or maybe empathic, yes that seems more fitting somehow."

He smiled and entered the room, coming to stand directly in front of Damon.

"I had hoped, this would not come out so quickly of course, but these things happen." He shrugged. "I thought you'd both be pleased by this little development. After all, isn't it what both of you wanted?"

Damon stared at Elena and she stared back at him. Both of them would have been surprised to know that their reaction to Elijah's question was very near identical.


End file.
